Reborn: To Live Another Day
by Derpboy Zero
Summary: Fitting for Valentine's Day, I'll say, but a one-shot romance between Spyro and Cynder after the success of banishing Malefor. Finally, they get time alone, but how may Cynder finally veer her true feelings to the hero she triumphed with alone together? As they reminisce past and present, they learn more than what meets the eye in their lives and journeys.


**Author's Note: Surprise, surprise, I'm back, and my username doesn't ring a bell anyway. But hey, I'm back after a long hiatus, and decided to make a simple, short story to say that I'M NOT DEAD NOR A LAZY FANFIC WRITER!...I was just busy. But I digress, so here's a story, and it's been quite a while since I made one. How time flies, eh? Never mind, but still, a bit unusual for what I'd typically write *gags* considering it's a short, brief romance, but something small to keep reader's and stalker fans of me during my absence content. Also, NO MORE JUNK I USED TO DO; THAT OLD STORY NEVER HAPPENED, YOU HEAR ME? *shakes fist angrily***

**in case I talked too long and bored you, _you could just skip this author's note and simply read the story or just look for another_, so don't blame me wasting a minute of your life of me being busy. You're holding the mouse, so just ignore me and DO SOMETHING, DANGIT...Anyway, on with the rating system:**

**Rated "T" for suggestive themes, mild violence, blood, and graphic imagery.**

**P.S. YES, I'm aware it involves Spyro and Cynder, as cliche as it is. but I'm hoping it'll be a little different unlike other stories...*cough* lemons. Ugh. ...STOP LISTENING AND DO SOMETHING!**

* * *

Reborn: To Live Another Day

Two dragons soared high from the blazing sun, appearing as silhouettes. Both glided high and low above the skyscraping trees and whizzing through flowers, merrily scattering petals and fluff. The duo descended slowly behind the stream of a massive waterfall crashing to the earth, and rested.

A young dragon moved closer to thrust his head forward into the falling water, washing his both head and yellow horns. He splashed some water on his golden, segmented chest and body. The water cleansed his purple scales from the smudge, burns, and the cuts and wounds on his body. Rotating himself, he allowed the water rush along the yellow spines, running from his back to the spade-shaped tail blade, to wash off the remaining debris. He then gurgled the water, swished it between his razor sharp teeth, and spat it away beside him on the dry rock.

The cleansed dragon turned his attention towards the other, a black and slender dragoness. She calmly dipped her dark head and nine horns through the same falls next to him. Her emerald eyes closed, enjoying the flow of the water drip on her magenta underbelly. The water made her black scales shine once again against the lucent sunlight, grabbing his attention. She turned to her side, slipping her scythe-shaped tail blade through the falls; her body shone like an angel, almost posing near him in the serendipity of the waking daylight, the dragon thought to himself.

"Wow, Cynder. You look beautiful." he said, breaking the silence. The dragoness looked into his amethyst eyes, then blushed, holding a paw on her cheek feeling its warmth.

"Well, aren't you in a quiet a perky mood, Spyro." she giggled, splashing drops of water using her tail. He laughed with her. "Well, we _did_ just save the world from mass destruction, so that's something to be happy about."

She looked back past the rippling water, taking in the sight of the rising dawn from the land's horizon. The calm water flow reflected Cynder's face next to the sunlight with a small, lifted expression of joy. She smiled, rubbing her left forearm. "Yeah, it seems like we did, and the world looks peaceful for once, and it feels just amazing now…"

Spyro scooted closer to his friend, sitting next to her. "It sure does. I've never had a nice view like this before, unlike the last time Ignitus showed me the daylight back in the temple first meeting him…" He lowered his head, looking opposite of Cynder's direction. Sudden flashbacks rushed in his mind, haunting him.

Her eyes lit up, replaying that same tragic incident, right past the Burned Lands, something the two wish to have never witnessed.

* * *

_"I should be able to offer some protection from the heat. Stay close to me." …_

_"My path ends here. But yours lies beyond this. Draw strength from each other and follow your heart. It will never fail you..." …_

_"Ignitus... Noooooo...!"_

* * *

Spyro's jovial expression suddenly fell into a brooding sadness, choking in his breaths every few seconds. Cynder turned, seeing his friend vulnerable by the past. Passively, the dragoness cried too, her tears as salty as her friend. She grunted, sharing the loss of their guardian-like dragon elder of fire, perishing within the very element he once mastered. Her paw clenched to a fist, slamming against the stony, cold rock on the ground, grunting.

The black dragon gazed into the burning sun climbing on the horizon. The warm glow reassured her in its golden radiance. Cracking from her lips, a tender smile formed, one of a new feeling arising from the sorrow. "You know, Ignitus was one of the first ones who truly trusted me." she whispered gently. The purple dragon blinked, noticing a different side of Cynder, his faithful companion.

"And, it hurts just as much as your loss without him. Ignitus was dependable – a true guardian, not of just his fiery ability but as one to protect – and was comfortable taking me under his wing to the temple, much like you, Spyro…"

"Ignitus…he was like the father I never had." he replied faintly, a darker tone within his voice. Inside, he wished vengeance for his master, yet couldn't let blind fury engulf him much like after his mentor departed within the hell of flames they crossed. He forced his himself to suck up his tears, gasping in sadness with his paws clenched tightly. "Even though I never met my parents, I can say he was likely what my father would have been: caring, protective, and even with tough love to guide me through life and trials of life itself. Losing him hurts most than all battles before, all because of the war tearing everyone apart, all this for me to stop it. All that faith in me – wasted without him now!"

Cynder reflected more upon their deceased fire guardian, outstretching her forearm through the running water. "He didn't do it just for you, he did it for all of us because he believed in _us_ to stop Malefor's destruction," she added, catching Spyro's glistening eyes, swollen with once bitter tears. "But now, I'm certain he'll live on into a peaceful afterlife, watching us from the skies and beyond, through the clouds…with the ancestors." The hero was caught in her eyes. Cynder smiled warmly, and brushed the soft membrane of her pink wing against a loose tear he missed, comforting him.

Spyro continued to gaze into the dragoness's eyes, feeling an odd, but indistinct feeling distracting him. Deep inside, a fluttering sensation came from his stomach, telling him something. Cynder's beauty hexed him into a trance, something he couldn't describe nor even experienced until now.

Likewise with Cynder, she became mesmerized into his charm. While Spyro fell into a daze, she enjoyed a similar sensation, only fully aware of the mood. She paused for a minute, letting the moment sink in happily, dreaming of something deeper, something she wistfully yearned from the legendary dragon she battled side-by-side with those passing years.

"Ignitus will live on; he'll live on…in our hearts, both his spirit and guidance, forever." he whispered, not fully conscious.

"Heh. Sure, as silly as it sounds. But, you're right, Spyro." The black dragoness giggled, staring straight into Spyro's eyes, their snouts only mere inches from each other. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes, relishing in the serenity of peace surrounding them. The waterfall, the sunset, and more importantly, a private place free of danger violence.

_Oh you, Spy. Everything feels complete now that you're here…with me…_she thought. _After all you've done, I hope you feel the way I do after all these encounters, after I veered my soul to you after conquering Malefor…I love you, Spyro_…

"Say…Spyro." The dragon blinked, paying full attention to Cynder. "Do you, maybe, remember what I had said back inside the volcano, right after defeating Malefor, just as you exerted your energy to stop the explosion?"

"I…I think? I'm not quite sure what it was about, since it was deathly silent as I focused…did you say something there?"

_Gurgle…_

Cynder's eyes opened quizzically, raising an eyebrow.

Spyro rubbed his paw at his underbelly. Again, his stomach gurgled loudly, and his cheeks flushed in surprise to a light red, then looked up. "I'm famished. Hey Cynder, let's find something to eat!" he chirped, snapping back to reality at an instant. Confused, the dragoness leaned back as she sat, replaying everything that occurred. Groaning, she hung her head in defeat, "Okay. – Fine! – Sure. In a giant forest like this, there's bound to be some food to eat," she replied bluntly.

Spyro retreated back in surprise, watching his partner take flight and splash through the waterfall. The dragon viewed his surroundings, then at himself from a tiny cluster of blue spirit gems reflecting the confusion in his face. He stared blankly to the dragon of his mirrored reflection, "Did I do something wrong?"

"Hurry up, Spyro. Don't keep a lady waiting." Cynder called out, suspended in the air by the beating of her wings. Her voice sounded both agitated and hasty.

The dragon mechanically whipped his tail where he stood, quickly shattering the glass-like crystals and the mirrored double. "Force of habit," he muttered to himself as spirit gems scattered, then flapped his wings, gaining height and catching up with Cynder.

The pair of small dragons soared over the lush landscape of Avalar. The black dragoness watched him from the corner of her narrow eye. Her sour expression changed slightly, a smile cracking from her lips. _Even if he's matured and was tossed into battle after battle in a war, he still just as childish as he was back then…which is sweet, admittedly,_ she noted to herself with a smirk.

The two vanished through the canopy of the lush forest. Their wings grazed through the dangling leaves, animating them as wind. Birds chirped in the background of nature's calming silence, along with the aroma of fertile soil and pine. Spyro and Cynder settled carefully to the ground and wandered a bit. A jingling echoed from the distance, grabbing the purple dragon's attention. His head turned with his wing lifted against his eardrum, "I hear something, Cynder. It could be food, come on. I'm starving!"

Spyro darted towards the path of the noise, a purple blur whizzing past her. A lone leaf fluttered between her sharp teeth with a flaky taste. Cynder brushed her scales from the debris of torn leaves and spat it out.

"Spyro – hey, wait up!" she shouted, following the leaves suspended in the air by the charging dragon. She followed him through the deep forest, sharply turning left and right, trees everywhere she looked in all directions, thicker through each tree passed. The ringing escalated in her eardrums every few seconds. As time passed, she distinctly recognized the tune more and more, turning more apprehensive by the second if he were to jump into it blindly. Quickly, the worry subsided as she ran through the grass and dirt, and caught up with him in about several seconds with a sly grin.

"Passing me like that? It's a race you're asking for, isn't it?" she asked at each breath with a beaming confidence. Spyro turned, and nodded, "Maybe, but you can't beat me to it." he laughed.

Cynder grinned at his cockiness. "We'll see about that!" Another sensation came to her. Adrenaline pumped into her bloodstream, yet not out of fear. It felt the same like in battle, except liberating. Both dragons hopped over the fallen branches and glided past protruding roots of the trees in their path, feeling excited as their hearts raced, pitting against each other in friendly competition.

A bright opening from the blanket of leaves above the forest's ground granted entrance to the sun's light far ahead of them. The two locked eyes with a quick chuckle after their glimpse of the rays light peering more the further they raced then zipped quickly, either dragon ahead by a nose each second. Cynder soon hopped on the arms of each tree, and then propelled herself forward with her haunches, leaving Spyro in the dust after a few of her forward launches. She blew wind, the element she still possessed, into her wings and started beating them harder, resulting in greater speed. "Is that all you've got, Spy?"

The purple dragon grinned, focusing hard in his thoughts. "Comet…" His body singed with ashes, next with searing cinders tracing his wing membrane. "Dash!" he shouted, his body rapidly ignited in fire and sped like a bullet through the forest. The black blur came closer into his view with blinding speed, water dripping from his eyes by the wind rushing opposite of him – even his eyelids flapping by the wind with his velocity.

A lone root poked from the ground, and Spyro tripped from it. His eyes widened in surprise as a leg bumped into it, flipping his body into a constant spin as flaming wheel in seconds. "Whaaa!" he screamed, literally hotter on Cynder's trail.

The dragoness tried to concentrate on the noise, but instead heard Spyro senselessly yell. "Spyro, don't be such a sore loser if you're behind!" she retorted in mid-flight. Her green eyes widened as she looked back, reflecting the flame wheel charging at her. "Oh mother of ancestors," she muttered, as the wheel slammed into her magenta underbelly, sucking her into the rolling inferno with more screaming.

The blazing sphere bumped into the ramp of a fallen tree's bark slanted on the ground, raising them high above the woods. The flame wheel burned brighter than the sun, finally disappearing into the thick forest again, rolling directly into bush in front of the tree.

The two crashed and laid on each other, dazed from their impact as circling stars buzzed around their heads. Cynder laid underneath her friend, their stomachs at close contact. The two shook their heads after half a minute, and then bantered playfully: "I won!" – "No, I won!" – "Nuh-uh." – "Did to!"

Both dragons ended laughing together happily from their little fun.

"That was really fun, Cynder! We should do it again!" he laughed with a smile, looking down at the dragoness lying on her back, giggling. _Never. Again with that. You're lucky you're cute after that accident, but oh well – and ouch, _she thought, rubbing one paw on her aching side, but dismissed it quickly. "Yeah, Spyro, I never had so much fun for ages!" she giggled, softly.

Spyro wiggled himself to move, but noticed Cynder's paws interlocking with his. Not only that, but their position, he soon realized. The black dragoness almost read his mind of where they were, and her cheeks blushed a deep red. Even as the purple dragon moved his forearms, he couldn't budge at the lock of her grasp; her tail was a vine wrapping around his tail passionately, even the cold metal bracer of her tail touching the his bare and warm tail.

Spyro felt very uncomfortable, while Cynder relished the physical contact, lost in her own thoughts, focusing on the purple dragon she liked.

"Uh, C-Cynder? Can you, um, please let go?" he shyly asked as he squirmed a bit to move, until his amethyst eyes met with Cynder's again. Her eyes shone differently, feeling peaceful and sweet within his presence instead of the usual expression of hers being serious and concerned with him and everyone. Spyro never noticed this side in her at all, and rather enjoyed it with a faint smile.

"Certainly…Spyro…" she gently whispered with a newfound harmony. Her slender tail uncoiled slowly, and the bound dragon was free. Getting up, he attempted to concentrate at the constant ringing for food starting that race after a few steps away from her, except a the serene spotlight of the sun directed attention to the beloved dragoness from Spyro's attention focused on her. She paused, noticing his gaze on her as she laid on her side, chest and underbelly scales facing him, brighter at the sun's spotlight, her scales glimmering by the beads of sweat from their previous play. She slowly lifted herself from the ground tall and stretched, a few bones cracking from soreness. Cynder smiled by the attention she received and prolonged it as she stretched, hoping to get noticed a little more.

_Rumble…_

Cynder froze in awkward surprise as her stomach rumbled as well, disrupting the moment and her routine. The familiar ringing resonated again above them, catching her attention as well. Like Spyro, she placed her paw on her chest, and regarded Spyro, who started the trip for food. "Come on, Spyro, I'm as hungry as you are right now, so let's eat."

The dragoness glanced above, then took a quick minute to think. Something bugged her about how Spyro would truly feel for her, so she contemplated something in her head. "Can you grab one fruit for me, please?" she intentionally asked with an enticing smile.

"Okay…for you, Cynder," he nodded, flying upwards to the tree. The jingling and juicy fruit swayed with the ambient air by the string-thin vine, dripping droplets of a sweet fragrance. They were encapsulated with a spiny shell, pointy to prick balloons and carve like a knife by a lone needle. It was spherical and yellow behind the wall of needles surrounding it, noticeable by an identical crack each treat shared. The dragon examined it for a clear opening to grab it, and tried to slice the string the fruit tethered into with a claw. It was no use normally, and the crack was a mere slit instead in each. With a paw under his chin, Spyro pondered harder for alternatives.

With the dragon's honed elemental breaths to select, he carved a slim, plate of ice from his claws to slice the vine and the shell; he attempted to scorch the fruit with the flamethrower of his breath; he tried to blast it off with the tremor of the earth's force of his breath; he even exhausted himself trying to zap it off with electricity to no avail.

Spyro grew aggravated from the rebellious fruit, and tried to grab it, wincing as he attempted to pluck it from the shell with bare paws. Cynder looked up, and a sudden realization struck in her mind. She bit her lip listening to the pain of him grunting, only to politely hand her food to eat. _What am I doing? A friend wouldn't allow another to hurt themselves for their own selfish benefit, even if I just use him like this!_ she realized, quickly flying up to him with sympathy. All for just to show an appreciation for her.

The purple dragon kept tugging at the spike ball, a drop of blood leaked from his paw to no avail of plucking it. The black dragoness paused near him, admiring his dedication, yet had to cease his futile effort to help. _Here goes nothing. Sorry, Spyro. _She took a deep breath, and a crimson wave of the red blasted from her mouth of fear's element, making him rush back, facing the fruit. "Ah! Death spike ball, don't kill me!" he stammered as his mind was erased of assisting her, flying back behind a branch. A raincloud of fear energy suspended above his head after the blast.

Cynder laughed watching his friend retreat immaturely like a kid, and then stopped as soon as she caught sight of the fruit again. She ascended atop the food's branch, and lowered her scythe-shaped tail blade against the slither of a string it drooped on. The knife of her tail sliced back and forth like a hacksaw against the string meticulously around the base near the bark of the branch. At last, the branch released the fruit under her into the bed of the bush both dragons crash-landed on.

The dragoness lowered herself to the fruit, and bashed the nine strong horns at the back of her head against it. The ball of the food rocketed into the tree, and cracked opened a more golden fruit within. She repeated again with the other, and labored the rest of Spyro's work for him. She held the fruits by the dangling string by the teeth, and carried them over to her friend, still cringing in fear.

"Please don't let the big-bad spiny ball kill me," Spyro stammered again, hidden behind both his golden wings. Finally the red cloud of fear dissipated from him, and he calmed down.

"It's not going to kill you, Spyro, don't worry," she joked, patting his head, then frowned. "But…I'm sorry for making you get that fruit for me without knowing how to harvest it; it was both selfish and wrong of me to use you like that, only to see if you cared for me. Please, forgive me." she begged, lowering herself in fear, preparing for the worst – a beating, insults, or Spyro simply abandoning her of her accidental greed. "And I can't blame you if you hate me or want to beat me for that, but I'm deeply sorry." she implored, looking down at herself with discontent, poking the thick branch with her dark paw.

Spyro expected himself to get mad for being used or at least react negatively after the self-harm – especially his best friend who used him – except, somehow, Cynder was different, he felt. She was a close friend of his from the very beginning, and always trusted her; impossible would it be to ignore her or make a harmless joke against her, even if she attacked again by anger or corruption, much like what Malefor seeped to her twice with evil and tainted terror, for him to even lay a claw on his beloved partner.

The dragoness noticed something rise from the top of her eye: it was Spyro's paw, claws brightened by the settling sunset. Frightened, she bit her lip, ready to accept punishment, closing her eyes hard. A bitter tear leaked from her eye, as a sudden flashback of being captured and tortured by Gaul, the ape king, and Malefor's abuse flooded her head, frozen by Spyro's lifted arm. _I…I didn't mean to, Spyro…but I…I…_–

The dragon's paw swooped down to her direction, covering the light of her tormented eyes.

Cynder stood motionless, then opened an eye, breathing tensely in trepidation of her delayed fate being harsh.

Instead, the purple dragon's paw pulled her head up to his level, slowly and gentle by his touch. He looked straight into her teary eyes with a reassuring smile. "Cynder, after everything we've been through, how can I even think of hating you, or even laying a claw on you? You've helped me through so much, even if you were never with me, your spirit kept me afloat from giving in to Malefor's dark forces. In difficult times, you helped me when I've needed you most, whether it's in battle or even when I need to talk to you when I'm emotionally hurt." he confided to the deepest of his feelings, crying cheerful tears.

Cynder cried softly with happiness. To Spyro's surprise, she nuzzled closely to him, the side of her head against his. "Thank you, Spyro. I promise to never use you again, nor anyone else I'd ever meet." the black dragoness cried, now laying one arm on her friend's shoulder. The dragon mimicked her, his own front arm caressing her dark scales, staying silent.

The black dragoness ceased her crying, and then looked at Spyro again. "Thanks, only you can truly understand me and the way I feel and act, Spyro. I'm sorry." she finished with one last sniffle.

"It's okay. You'd never do anything bad intentionally. It's just a mistake, and only a mistake. Nothing more." he explained, gripping one of the fruit with his teeth and turning his head to her. "Is this what you wanted?" he smiled.

Cynder's eyes sparkled with amazement. "I can still give it to you, plus we need to keep our energy up!" he smiled again, brightening the mood. The dragoness inched her mouth close to him, and instead of following her affectionate instincts, she bit the string from the topaz yellow fruit. "Thanks again, Spyro." she whispered in appreciation. _Soon, I hope, in this night, he'll know exactly how I feel,_ she thought, gazing into the lucent reflection of herself from the essence of the fruit.

The two watched the sunset sink into the ground of the horizon, leaving a faint, golden glow atop the hills and mountains. Cynder chewed away at the succulent, custard-like fruit next to Spyro, enjoying his protection and comfort. Again, the black dragoness reflected on the action bitterly. _But, it was no mistake…_ She shook off rueful greed upon testing him before, and only a tear from her eyes escaped, glistening in the sun's radiance. The golden sun took its light from the skies sluggishly as night followed day slowly, and only silence was shared for the remainder of the day.

* * *

The starlight sky glimmered with stars in the cool darkness of the night. The two dragons settled down under a massive tree around a rushing river, basking in the peace, side by side. Spyro remained silent, absorbed by the quietness without thunderous crashes and howls of battle cries disrupting his mind for once. Complete silence, no more fatalities of fallen soldiers of neither the Dark Master's nor his own in battle from Warfang and everywhere else he traveled to his first days of combat.

Cynder laid calmly on her pinkish belly, trying to heed his companion's silence as well, yet many thoughts scattered in her head. All of them centered on the dragon she liked, Spyro. After several hints, he had not returned the exact affection she longed for, at least showing sincere sympathy and a fair friendship, but nothing more the way she desired in her heart. Closing her eyes, she struggled still to brush away her thoughts to relax but remained restless, relaying conversation with herself.

_Sure, Cynder, he's a terrific friend – maybe the best any dragoness can have, but does he care about me like the way I do?...No, he cares a lot! Why else had he forgave me and protected me after all those years, right when he had the perfect time to just attack me or scold me angrily,_ she argued with herself, whipping her head in alternate directions as if her thoughts formed an entirely new dragon next to her.

_No, a friend's a friend. He cares, but only for your safety, not in a lovey-dovey way but out of a close friendship. Get your head out of the clouds._

_Wrong! He asks me whenever I need help, even if I act like everything's fine back at the temple years ago. We've became more than friends since, and all those battles prove it!_

_Hah! Brutality is love, simply fighting for another? Love is more complex than just beating the stuffing out of every opponent, Cynder. And he's a partner in battle as an ally and at most a friend, nothing more._

_Well, not really, but…_

_And so everyone who you meet and fight alongside with means you must love. Gee, imagine yourself with all of every ape beaten to a pulp back then, and even all four guardians who helped you, and the Avalar soldiers, haha. Doubt you can take them all like that, just to be with you._

_Oh wait until I get my claws on you!_

_You mean yourself!?_

"Cynder," spoke a quiet voice.

_Spyro cares as much as I do, I'm certain of it!_

_Okay then. Ask him, and don't come crying back into your conscious because I was right._

_Well, I'm right – or, technically you – but I'm right! Spyro. Only he would harbor the same feelings after everything, just watch!_

A sudden nudge was felt on Cynder's cheek, mildly affectionate and gentle, "Cynder?"

The dragoness's eyelids flipped open as reality returned. Beside her, her soul mate was facing her, quizzical and concerned. "Cynder, are you okay?" he asked in a soft tone.

What caught Cynder's eyes was his contact: Spyro nuzzled her head without thinking twice of it nor mentioning it, only to see if she was fine. Their eyes locked, connecting them closer in levels of love. With her mouth slightly agape, the black dragoness stared blankly without words, speechless. "Uh, Spyro, I…" she muttered, still dazed with her previous conversation.

The purple dragon chuckled, "Just like me when the Chronicler puts me in training: one minute fully awake, and the next lightheaded and unconscious in ten seconds flat..."

He turned towards the burning stars at the sky, letting his mind and eyes wander into the stellar sight and near nebulas of each dotted star, "Isn't it such a glorious sight this twilight sky?"

Cynder gazed around the twinkling sky lights with awe. His tranquil voice coming as a surprise; he behaved a little different, transforming before her very eyes from the day to the present night. Before, Spyro always fooled around with Sparx once in a while, and now he flipped, remaining alone with her in harmony, taking a more mature stance as peace poured into his soul.

"Yes, Spyro. That it is a wonderful night." she responded happily. She took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. _Maybe, just maybe…_ she pondered more about Spyro. However, their surroundings vexed her into the newly discovered peace much like what Spyro was currently embracing. "Come to think of it, I can never recall any time when we've actually enjoyed a moment like this. All the violence, all the carnage, and all the beatings on every wimpy soldier of Malefor's, all gone – and let's not forget saving the world from imminent destruction. Well, for your case, maybe two or three times in all his plans!"

"Yeah, not to toot my own Foghorn or anything, but you know," the purple dragon laughed. Suddenly, his muzzle curved into a frown. "But after cleansing the evil in our home, what's next for us?"

The dragoness opened her eye wider, trapped in thought. "What do you mean?"

Spyro looked down, biting his lip, "All I ever wanted was a normal, humble life. Before, I was content as a little dragon, living with dragonflies – even though I never was one, mind you – and I rather enjoyed it, even thinking I was like them. It was fun, playing with Sparx despite his condescending attitude, yet nothing mattered, and I was happy. I was home.

"But then, I learn of some ancient prophecy from Ignitus, and I vaguely remember any fun after that. All I ever did was train and train intensively for battle, next I was disposed to confront everything in my path to stop the Dark Master's reign of terror. Nothing but battle wounds and bruises, I don't think I lived a proper life – or even lived at all! Everyone had a merry life, while I labored and risked my own life, and for what?! There's peace left for everyone, but nothing for me to enjoy then! I never had a choice, and if I could, I'd never have had put myself through all that, but I had to, for everyone – dragon, cheetah, and mole alike. Everyone and everything."

Spyro paused, covering his face with his wing, concealing his own sorrow. Cynder slid closer, holding her paw on his shoulder in comfort, listening to his sobbing as his pain spread to her with sympathy. The once-great hero broke into tears, something none would ever hope to witness, even Cynder, quivering her maw to pity. Oddly, the dragoness sensed a sign of more than weakness in him. Trust, how easily he lost it, only in front of her, a strong connection between the heroes.

Cynder rubbed his shoulder, proceeding to coax her friend. "Spyro, it's not just you who suffered such a fate. Look at me: Cynder, Terror of the Skies…that title. It's stuck to me, and it's become a part of me also." she confided, feeling miserable recalling the many she may have killed previously. "I truly never had much of a choice being sucked into a life of despair and remorse. Remember, I was robbed before growing into a hatchling, the night of the raid from The Year of The Dragon, in the very batch you survived miraculously in! Gaul took me, and molded me into a bloodthirsty killing machine, and I barely had any power to say a simple 'no!' " she yelled, all of a sudden emotional, digging her white claws in the earth in fury. "Never would I have killed and ever put anyone in danger if I could have done something about it."

The purple dragon lowered his wing, examining Cynder from her rage as tears streamed and crashed into the ground like a waterfall.

"All this time, I never want to be looked as a killing machine, and no one can look at me without screaming in terror – The Terror of the Skies! It's not like I want the attention, nor any at all. I only wanted a friend who actually cares and fully comprehends my pain and actually appreciates me for who I am now…" The black dragoness lowered herself to her haunches, weeping with rivers of tears.

"I'm so sorry, Cynder." Spyro sympathized, breathing in a more controlled pace. He placed himself in front of the dragoness. "And here I thought I had an awful life."

Cynder turned her head away, "And it gets worse; just when I realize how nice it was having a family who cared, they were gone, and I never got to experience the joys of compassion and even love by family and friends!" she sobbed, drifting deep into her mind, recalling the tragic incident.

* * *

"_One dreadful night, we were given an assignment to strike a small town with innocent dragons. The objective was to hold them captive to enslave for the mines of Mount Boyzitbig when moles were lacking in number to collect crystals for soldiers and to plunder them for riches._

_Before I was fully corrupted, I was a petite dragon, yet devastating in battle for what I was trained for by Gaul. I never knew what was right, and blindly slaughtering every foe in my path from those who retaliated against me and my troops followed my lead rather than capture. Blood splattered beneath my feet at the very ground hundreds likely died at, both apes and dragons. Lifeless…_

_One night, I got separated by my soldiers from the trail back when I got lost from my brigade, convenient to return to the very land I decimated. Silence filled the air, nothing more but the putrid stench of blood in my nostrils of every deceased soul, and for once it haunted me, foreboding a deathly fate upon me much like what I delivered to all of them there._

_There, I encountered a mysterious, young dragon, around my age and out for revenge against that massacre. He assaulted and nearly killed me as I grew weak after those previous wounds. It was embarrassing, as my life hung on a thread from his might. While brief and interrupted, a small family of dragons appeared, then coaxed him to cease. They took me in, thinking something went wrong in my life to have caused this – even they were well aware of who lead that violence as if I was a part of them. They fed me, sheltered me, but more importantly, cared for me like family, as if I was their daughter. I did not recognize their scent as family. While my instincts told me otherwise, my heart told me I was home._

_ Until one day, he asked me one of the biggest questions in my life: "Why? Could there have been any other choice?" It struck me deeply, and when I realized I had no choice, I had the feeling I would never have any for the rest of my life. He assured me that someday I would, yet I'd have yet to see the day._

_ The very next day, weeks after my disappearance from the Dark Master, the apes circled back and managed to find me. They took my family who adopted me as their own, and chained us back to Malefor's throne. He chained me back against the wall, using a torturous device not of pain, but of misfortune as my eyelids were forced open with metal prongs. There, I watched the execution of my new family, and it hurt as soon as what I had was finally lost, right in front of my eyes. Their cries of agony, forever trapped in my head. Every so often, I'd remember them only by their suffering, just for me: The Terror of the Skies._

* * *

Cynder finally turned quiet, blinking away the tears on her eyes and now staring into the sky. "If only they were all alive still, and I would understand how it's like to have a choice, the choice to live with them and stay safe from wreaking more havoc. And now I feel alone, left in the darkness that tore me apart." she explained, looking at Spyro with gleaming, wet eyes of her despair.

Spyro rested closely to Cynder, his side touching hers, sitting close by each other under the stars and the blanket of the tree's leaves. The dragoness lowered her head and released all her tormented tears on his neck. "If only we ever had a choice, everything would have been different, but we had to in order to move forward, then to save the world." Spyro concluded. "It was at our cost, but I believe it's worth it after that suffering and our difficult journeys, and see the true colors of peace from vanquishing evil, Cynder…To live another day."

The dragoness sniffled, wrapping one arm around him for comfort. "To live another day…" she repeated to herself, "living life after a war has ended. As if doors opening to a whole new world of peace, being reborn into a distant world which we live in familiar in our eyes but revived into a new life." Cynder glimpsed around her surroundings in the moonlight of both Celestial Moons watching them. "The trees, the ground, the river and the heavens – all feel different, yet the same, now that peace has finally risen for everyone, even for the both of us. Reborn back into our home revitalized with peace in the air."

Spyro nodded, embracing her with his left arm. He began to truly enjoy Cynder's company in a new light. After all her trials, now she was free with him to share in the peace. The dragon leaned his head closer to her, until his golden horns clicked on her silver horns, breaking their moment.

The dragons' heads retreated after colliding. The two stared sheepishly into each other's eyes, and then relaxed in the other's presence. Again, they stared into the sky together, holding each other's paws.

"Ouch!" yelped Cynder, withdrawing her paw. A sudden needle prodded Cynder from Spyro's paw. He looked back in surprise, then scanned his paw: a needle drove through the back of his purple paw, seeping a few drops of drying blood. The purple dragon merely shrugged at the sight of it, "Meh, I had worse." he disregarded, "Now, where were we?– ow, hey!" he said, standing on all fours and pushed by his side with the dragoness's head.

"You need to get it disinfected, or at least washed off!" interjected Cynder from his words, pushing him next to the nearby river from the tree. She motioned Spyro to sit as well, taking his paw in hers, pausing for half a second again in contact. Shaking her head, she dipped his paw in the flowing, calm water, gingerly brushing her paw against the wound.

Spyro's paw was lifted again without a drop of blood in sight but a mere mark. "I need to pluck the spine, Spyro." she kindly requested. "This mighthurt _juuust_ a bit." Cynder was answered by a small nod from her friend. She grasped his forearm with both her paws, eyeing the thorn carefully in precision to avoid too much harm. She opened her mouth to settle the needle between the razors of her teeth to grip it.

"Wait, Cynder. How much did you say it would hurt–" The black dragoness bit and plucked the spine quick in a blink of an eye. The purple dragon squeaked nothing more than a peep in pain, and proceeded to suck the pricked paw. Cynder only watched and laughed, tapping the ground hysterically. "Oh come on, you've been hit with much worse than this, Spyro!" she giggled, failing to suppress it in more laughter.

Spyro watched his friend laugh and laid on his haunches against the blades of grass in embarrassment. "Like you've never had a needle plucked from _your_ paw." he complained to Cynder, regaining her composure from his exaggerated reaction. "Lighten up, I was only kidding." she responded, and Spyro nervously laughed along. "Well, I guess it was a little funny."

Again, Cynder seemed to calm down and let her attention wander into space, falling on her back. Her mood flipped – again, only when he was around during this time, alone. Spyro looked back at her actions, trying to piece together her odd behavior that afternoon when they got back. First, she seemed normal, next starting to ease up and have fun. And now, she trusts him to the point of veering such tragic incidents causing her to cry, but seek comfort from him. Now, curiosity got the best of him as he followed her position to the ground, relaxing more.

"Say, Cynder."

"Yes, Spyro?" she calmly answered.

"Remember that fruit which you asked me to pick for you – the one you just pulled some time ago?" he asked. "How come you stopped me from plucking that prickly fruit for you?"

The dragoness giggled, "Because I don't want you to get hurt, remember? We went through this already. Is your memory that bad, Spyro?" Her silver scythe tail blade playfully tapped the spade of his.

Spyro snickered, his eyebrow curved skeptically. "Come on, there has to be more to it, considering how emotional you were when I was hurt, even by a small wound when, clearly, _I've_ had much worse."

The dragoness's eyes opened, "Well, what do you mean? I just…don't want anyone to get hurt, and that includes you…and – well, I can't let your face swell up like a puffer fish if it poked your face with a lethal toxin!" she nervously laughed, shifting her eyes left and right. Cynder hid something, fidgeting by rubbing her forearm in shyness acting a bit odd.

"Okay. What if it was someone else, then – how about Sparx being in a pickle? Would it be any different from me?" he slyly asked, aware of her deceit.

"Oh, he's a completely different story since I still dislike him inside; while he was nice before we left through the fire and flames of the fire barricading the Burned Lands. But nah." she dismissed, swaying a paw through the air lazily. She turned her head and body opposite from him, lying on her side to hide her inner emotions from her friend feeling anxious. She knew Spyro was baiting her, except she was unaware of whether would return the same passion for her or just to break it gently to avoid hurting her feelings.

"Although, you're different – in a good way, that is." she added quickly, trying to conceal her worry. She slowly shifted on her other side, her magenta belly scales facing Spyro, the two dragons face to face. Her emerald eyes twinkled a deeper amity held for the other dragon she grew to know and care for. Spyro paused, captivated in the dragoness he befriended from all those years.

"Spyro, you…you're different to me." she began, ready to confide the last of her secrets for her watchful and understanding dragon. "After all you've done for me, it's something I may never, ever payback with the best of my ability. You defended me after being an outcast for all the destruction I've caused against my will. I was given another chance to live and you also accepted me for who I am, rather than what I had committed. And I was no different from how you'd treat anyone; I became a friend of yours, and you stuck up to me, even though everyone would want to ignore or even kill me."

Cynder affectionately slid closer next to Spyro, the scales of both their chests closely pressed against each other sharing their warmth. Her own heart felt her companion's beating pulse unevenly with her steady rhythm. "You set me free from the shackles and darkness of evil that once confined me in a grim nightmare against my will. Spyro, I can never thank you enough for liberating me and bringing me into a new light from life I once implored to live once again as _my_ own master…with you…"

Slowly, Cynder climbed right on top of her purple dragon, caressing him underneath her. The cold metal of the dragoness's bracers sent him under her gentle submission as it prodded his back, sending a shiver down his spine. While not something to fear, it was a timid stroke of her paw and the metal without brute force, soothing him instead.

"Cynder, I'm truly happy that I can actually find a friend who wouldn't treat me like a legend anymore, but a close friend much like yourself." he, too, confided, "Without you, I'd have no idea who else to turn to and help me through the battles and even lift my spirits like you have. I always knew there was more to you than being a tool and slave to Malefor, and you deserved to live…and, after all those years, I labored hard to save you, because you were more than just a friend for me, not some puppet of his."

_Puppet…_the word echoed inside her head. The dragoness pushed herself back an inch from Spyro with a frown. "After all this time…but what if it would be for nothing. If you had failed and did not rescue me, then I'd…" she stopped, playing in her mind again of the life of servitude in the darkness that consumed her life: the corruption, the carnage, the ruthless killing. _Terror of the Skies…,_ the same vile words hissed in her head.

Spyro wiggled himself more freely gingerly under her grasp, then his tail slithered from behind Cynder and, by her surprise, intertwined with hers taut, yet comfortable. It was much like the day, only more welcoming from him. The dragon interlocked his front paws with hers in a pleasant grasp. His arms pulled her closer in a sweet embrace, the familiar position after their little race. "Cynder, all that's in the past, and it's all about what you can do and mean for everyone, even me. There will always be a choice for us, and more things in life ahead to look forward to."

The black dragoness leaned closer to his head, tinting a deeper red than Spyro. It was expected and filled her with surprise still. Yet the sensation and contact amazed her from her love. There was a momentary silence as the two dragons locked their sight on each other's eyes. Both their heartbeats finally synched together, now pounding passionately in a single, harmonious rhythm. Cynder's scales scintillated brighter in the dragon's mauve eyes as she laid on top of him amiably, a moon behind her head shining quietly. She melted into the contact by her companion, their close friendship becoming more intimate after those passing, eternal years.

Spyro leaned closer to the dragoness; their muzzles were a mere inch from each other. The purple dragon pulled her closer in the warm comfort of their embrace. It was liberating from her comfort zone compared to other creatures and allies she encountered who were mostly neutral or cold against her.

"After everything I've gone through with you – and for you, it was all worth it." He whispered softly, his breath slowing more calmly. As soon as Cynder blinked, she felt a gentle press against her lips, opening her eyes in shock over the feeling. The contact sent a sensational wave of bliss through her body, spreading her wings and the blood of her veins, drifting her into deep happiness with Spyro. The dragoness returned the kiss, allowing her companion to sink into the mood with her under the stars and the moon observing the two young dragons in love.

After a few minutes, Cynder finally parted with Spyro from their quiet osculation, both of them now staring into each other's newly opened eyes, looking into the new selves they turned into from all their trials through time's eternal flow. The two remained silent, cherishing their moment without any talk but nature's noises of the river moving and crickets chirping.

Soon, Spyro loosened his grasp for Cynder to move. She settled closely to Spyro as her chest laid perpendicular on the purple dragon's chest and positioned herself so her neck was close to his, staring out to the sky in peace again.

"Spyro…" the dragoness whispered faintly, catching his attention. "Did you, maybe, hear what I had said back at the core of the volcano, after we defeated Malefor and you were focusing on piecing the world together?..."

The purple dragon still watched the sky, looking for his answer whether he heard it really heard it. Out from the horizon, he saw the tip of the volcano, resting and dormant with a tiny line of smoke, behind an opening from the grove of trees far away. "I love you…" he simply answered. "That was what you said, and that alone gave me that boost of will to piece the world together while I was exhausted from that fight. And…I do love you. Always remember that, Cynder."

The black dragoness took a deep breath, then faced towards the direction of the same fiery mountain out at the distance. "And like you had said when I was tainted again, you were left with nothing to fight for. You do remember, and if I never helped you, all of life and this peace would be forever lost." Cynder said, crying tears of joy. She nuzzled her head next to Spyro's. "We did it, Spyro. We finally did it…"

The purple dragon nodded, "Of course we did. Everything's perfect now without anything to disturb neither the peace nor us for the time being. Peace will last for the time to come after our hard work, Cynder." He kissed Cynder on her cheek, then held her back with one forearm, gazing into the sky again.

"Who knows when we'll return, but for the time being," the dragoness thought aloud, "We need a break from everything, and stay together instead. They'll live without us, even that bug of a brother you call Sparx."

Spyro snickered, "Still the same old you as always, Cynder."

The dragoness nodded, then yawned sleepily, staring out to space, noticing a peculiar shape form. The sight became darker with each yawn she took trying to focus at its lining. "Good night…Spyro. I love you." Finally, Cynder was asleep in the arms of her faithful companion. A smile formed on her face as a sweet tear dropped from her eye. "Reborn, to live another day…" she whispered faintly to herself. _I promise, Sparx, to protect him as well, even if you got on my nerves…you too, Ignitus,_ she mused in her mind as an image of Spyro's obnoxious step brother of a dragonfly faded from her mind.

"Sweet dreams, Cynder. I love you too." he said warmly, then caught his soul mate's drowsiness and looked outside to sleep faster with her in serenity. The same image catching Cynder's eyes centered in his view: a faded but golden lining of a dragon with outstretched wing in the dark, royal blue night.

"Ignitus…if…if you can hear me, thank you for everything you've done for me – even for Cynder." he spoke, caressing his friend's body, fast asleep. "Without you, everything would be doomed, and everyone. Thank you for teaching me how to vanquish the evils plaguing Dragon Realms, and your guiding spirit shall forever burn within my heart. You're the father I never had, and I am eternally grateful for training me and sticking up for Cynder in giving her a welcome to the temple. Please, Ignitus, watch over the two of us and guide us to a new era of everlasting peace, and we'll watch over everyone to preserve that peace.

"I know you're out there…somewhere. I just know it, but do watch the world from wherever you reside: the stars, the afterlife…maybe even the clouds and beyond, or maybe someplace familiar I've yet to find you again, if you're alive. Thank you for everything, and I'll protect Cynder and the same for her to me…good night…Ignitus…" Spyro ended, then yawned once more, falling on his back with the dragoness she fought with and loved. In one last blink, the draconic constellation had another star twinkle in its eye. It shone, watching the two dragons sleep that night, together in peace.

* * *

**Aw...*gets brown plastic bag to barf in* Ain't that sweet?...well don't expect another like this again, unless I'm a masochist of writing this mushy-stuff, but it was somewhat enjoyable (minus sweet parts, gagged a few times there). But yeah, I'm back in business at Fanfiction, but I will be slow and not guarantee another fanfic right around the corner, so BE PATIENT, NEW FANS WHO ACTUALLY LIKED THIS. But I will say, the next may be a tad unexpected...*cynical laugh***

**Hrrhmm...oh yeah. Like everyone says, read, review, comment if you enjoyed it or want to burn this writing piece if it were terrible, or simply flame me and waste your time and effort. Whichever pleases you will do fine. Later everyone. Signing off Adieu.**


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